Kissing You
by mspolapotter
Summary: I told myself that after Luke's betrayal, I will never love again. But Percy . . . he's the only thing preventing me from keeping that promise.


Oh MY GODS. Well, since this is my first Percy jackson fic, let me introduce myself. I am mspolapotter, writer mostly of Harry Potter fanfiction, preferably HarMony. Recently, I got hooked to Percy Jackson and when I get hooked, I write! BTW, I'm in Cabin 6, Daughter of Athena. After reading BoTL, I listened to a wonderful song by Miranda Cosgrove, Kissin U and made a PercaBeth fic. yes. I love percabeth. i love it like I love HarMony. Rachel is a mortal. She should go live her life without the drama.

So, here it is. Italicized phrases are words of Rick Riordan not me :))

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Percy Jackson. It's Rick Riordan's. And Greek Mythology belongs to the Ancient Greeks.

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"_I should get back. I'll keep in touch_," I said, trying to ignore the stings that wanted to bring tears to my eyes.

"_Listen, Annabeth—" _he began, but was immediately cut off, apparently thinking carefully about the right words he should say.

Argus honked his horn down the road. Well, this is it.

"_You'd better get going_," I said. "_Take care, Seaweed Brain_."

After saying those parting words, I jogged back to the hill without looking back. It would hurt me too much to see him leave me again, especially with _that_ mortal oh-so nearby.

I ran all the way up to my cabin. It was almost empty, except for my half-sister Sam, who was packing her things and getting ready to leave.

"Whoa, why're you crying, Annabeth?" she asked. Angrily, I wiped my tear-streaked face.

"It's nothing," I said with a sniffle.

"Boy problem?" she asked. She was a year younger than me, and yet she was more like an older sister.

"Yeah," I finally admitted.

"Look," she began. "Don't worry about Percy and that mortal Raina or something—"

"Rachel," I corrected.

"Fine. Rachel then," she continued. "Percy may be the son of Poseidon, our Mom's enemy, but I'm sure Percy will come to his senses. He's not a stupid fish not to realize how madly in-love he is with you."

"Hah," I said bitterly. "How did you know it's Percy I'm crying about?"

"Annabeth, Annabeth, Annabeth," she sighed, shaking her head. "We're daughters of Athena. Nothing gets past us." She sat on her suitcase and clicked it shut. "There. I have to go, Annabeth. See you next summer."

"You too," I replied, waving a hand in farewell. I turned in my bunk and covered my head with a pillow. Finally. I was alone to think.

I remembered everything that had happened on the first quest I led. The Labyrinth, Lady Hera, Lord Janus, Eurytion, Nico, Kampê, Hephaestus . . . _Mt. St. Helens_.

I remember everything that happened back there. I had insisted that he didn't have to go, but his ADHD won't allow it. I was supposed to punch and tell him that he was stupid, but instead _my_ ADHD made me kiss him and tell him, "Be careful."

It was a short moment—wait, was it sweet? I suppose it was, I had enjoyed it—it was a short sweet moment, but to me it felt like the whole world. I knew that sparks were flying, I'd felt it. I couldn't breathe, because for that brief moment, I felt that the world stopped spinning. In that small moment, Percy opened my mind to possibilities. Maybe we'd survive Mt. St. Helens. Maybe I'd finish this quest. Maybe there was someone other than Luke, a different and better _fish_.

In that moment, we were both in mortal peril, but it didn't matter. All my doubts that had anything to do with Poseidon and he being against my Mom faded away. It just seemed all too impossible that my Mom was angry with the person (okay, god) whose son made me so happy.

The only other person who made me feel this way was Luke. I was so sure that he was the 'love" the Oracle was talking about. Apparently, he had given himself over to the Titan Lord.

"Um, ANNABETH!" somebody screamed.

"Holy Athena!" I exclaimed in surprise. I saw Silena Beauregard at the door. "What do you want?"

"I just came for cabin check," she said. I noticed that she was holding a clipboard. I must have looked really distraught because then she said, "Boy trouble?"

Wow. Our parents never got along really well. We never got along well, too. But coming from the daughter of the goddess of love I say I need the advice. I simply nodded.

"I thought so." She entered the cabin and sat beside me on my bunk. "I'd been at the door for ten minutes, you know."

"Oh my gods, I'm sorry," I said.

"It's okay. You did it for love," she said. "Hm, I assume you're not on Luke castellan's side, yes? Ah, you were thinking about that son of Poseidon, Perseus Jackson." She sighed.

"How did you know?" I blurted. Blasted ADHD.

"Come on, I'm Aphrodite's daughter," she replied, acting as if she insulted. "You daughters of Athena don't miss anything, but you see through love. You ignore it like celestial bronze ignores mortals."

I sighed.

"Don't worry," she said, "I've seen the way he looks at you. It's like . . . well—like a teenage boy falling in love for the first time ever since he got here."

"Really?"

She nodded. "Believe me. Mother Aphrodite also told him she's rooting for you two, so there's really nothing stopping you. Well, except for that fight between Athena and Poseidon."

I thought about it for a moment.

"I have to go," she said, standing up with her clipboard, poised and perfect. She was the second person today who gave me advice before leaving. "The Ares cabin has been getting too much extra time."

"Thanks . . . cuz," I said with a smile.

"It's what I do," she shrugged. "When you have beauty and love problems, you know who to approach, Cousin Annabeth."

For the first time, I smiled at a daughter of Aphrodite. She nodded at me and left.

When she was gone, the memory of our brief kiss nagged me again. It was something more. It was definitely so much more than what I had felt for Luke. It was nothing compared to that. Percy's the only person who knew every single thing about me. He was the only person who'd bother to look for me and shout my name even though it'll kill him when I'm invisible.

Was it love?

I don't know, really. I wasn't _made_ out of love. Well, I mean, you know, the _usual_ kind of love. But, then, again, I have experienced it in many ways. Chiron always made sure I was okay. That was love. My brothers and sisters here in Camp Half-Blood and back at home make me feel loved. Dad and Mom made sure I know that they love me, no matter how far away they were. Thalia, Grover and Tyson were always concerned for me. To me, concern is love. And Percy . . . he's made me feel a hundred different emotions that I cannot even name. He always gives me hope whenever we were both in trouble. I would trust him with my life and bizarrely, he's also the only person I'm willing to take a bullet for. Even though my mother doesn't approve of us, she cannot deny that she had been in my place once and eventually, she will let me be happy, I hope.

There was all sorts of love in the world, but the strongest love I found only in Percy. She could have stayed in Calypso's island, but he didn't.

Because, deep down, some part of him (maybe not his ocean-controlling part, though) knew that a lot of people love him. And now, I'm definitely sure that I'm one of those people.

Oh my gods! I'm in love with Seaweed Brain!

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Well, I know it's not much, but after i read TLO (which is still a hardbound, that's why I don't have a copy yet. Bummer -.-) I expect to be more inspired.

Thanks for reading! Please review :))


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